Windswept
by Dark Seraphim
Summary: [Suikoden Tactics]Ornella dreams of having Roget and she hopes that they will become reality. Het. RogetXOrnella.


Author's Notes: In the Suikoden fandom, I tend to lean pretty heavily towards the yaoi side. Yet, fanfic for this game is few and between for me(despite having a butt load of RPs, some of which still need to be posted online). One fic is shounen-ai, one is gen, and the other is this one: het. Roget is the sort of character that can easily be slashed with both male and female characters, depending on what you like in fanfic. One of those female characters is Ornella, especially after seeing the ending. No, there's not much to go on, but when has that ever stopped anyone? Once again, this fic is in present tense(thanks, Luc Court), but I hope you enjoy it.

Ornella thinks nothing of the wind. It's simply there to her and she only pays attention to it when it leads a storm. Things are calm this night; not like the calm before a storm, but just truly peaceful. She prefers nights like this, but her favorite night is when it's lit by distant lightning.

Her favored element is the result of magnetic attraction between the air and earth or two clouds with opposite polarities. Wherever it comes from, it clashes with earth, sears through water and pierces wind. Only, she hasn't pierced Roget. If anything, he's pierced her, but not in any physical way. She's known him only by name and reputation in the past, but she's always paid some attention to him. She knows that he's been to prison twice for attacking Imperial Officers, something she never though someone like him was capable of. She knows that he rose quickly in the Patriarchal Faction and became Iskas's right hand man, something that never actually surprised her, even though she had never seen his face, until recently.

Ornella never thought she'd see him the way she did in Graska. She knows that back stabbing is common in both politics and business, but she had never see someone back stabbed in front of ally and enemy alike. She had never seen someone so thoroughly abandoned.

A part of her thinks it's his comeuppance. After all, she knows that Roget is nothing if not relentless and that he caused a lot of trouble for everyone he's gone up against. However, only a small part of her feels that way since she mostly feels relieved that Kyril saved him. Friend or foe, Roget did not deserve to die. Besides, Ornella always wanted to see and hear him up close.

At worst, he's kind of cute. At best, he's absolutely gorgeous. Tonight, Roget is the latter as he lifts his head, letting the wind brush against his bared throat and his closed eyes. All she can do is stare, like she's always done since he joined.

Roget is wearing a short brown leather jacket held closed by straps, fingerless gloves of the same color, black pants that flatter him, and knee high boots that match his top. Ornella usually doesn't care what anyone wears, but ever since she saw him, she always wondered what outfit he'd wear next, while wondering how he managed to take it all with him after joining Kyril's Caravan. She often finds herself wondering what's under his clothing, something she certainly never thinks about when observing other people. She notices that he is holding his weapon--a rod topped with a glowing white gold orb. No spell is being cast, Ornella knows that much, but she also knows that he's not afraid to use his magic.

The stars watch them both from above while Roget's eyes remain shut. Ornella wonders what he could be thinking. Does he dream of her? She can't help but doubt it since he barely knows of her existence and even if he did, she's a member of the Imperial Faction and he is not. Still, she finds herself dreaming of him touching her, his hands warm against her skin, his scent like windswept leaves, his dark hair soft under her fingertips.

She's been doing that often, far more often than she would ever care to admit. Sometimes Ornella would find herself under a tree, wishing her fingers belonged to Roget while they glided across the more sensitive regions of her body. She'd push back against the trunk, whispering his name as her hand moved rapidly between her legs. Such behavior is risky, Ornella knows that, but it adds to the excitement, provided that Roget himself wouldn't be the one to catch her. She never wants to know what would happen if he caught her acting out her desires.

Now here he is, less than twenty feet away, unaware of her or anyone else. Or is he? Ornella has no intention of finding out and yet she has not moved an inch. She can feel the all too familiar tension between her legs as she finds herself unable to look away from him. The rough tree bark feels good as she leans against it, watching Roget watch nothing in particular.

He could have been something else, Ornella realizes. Roget never has the look of a mage, despite being around most of the other magic users. Only his weapon is a dead giveaway and even then she suspects that it could be used for something other than spellcasting. She's also seen him with Seneca and the other archers. Could that have been his previous class? Ornella has no idea, but she helplessly smiles at the thought of him holding a bow and arrow or a crossbow. She starts to wonder how good he would be with such weapons. Now she finds herself chuckling as quietly as possible, but not quietly enough, it seems because Roget opens his eyes, his piercing gaze almost paralyzing her.

_Damn!_ Ornella blames no one but herself for finally being caught. She should have never snuck around to begin with, but too late now. She acted like a love struck teenage brat and must now pay the price, whatever it may be. _Damn again for being stupid!_

"You've been watching me for quite awhile." He never looks away from her. "You're not the only one who has." Roget is now completely facing her, the globe from his rod illuminates his face, revealing dark brown eyes. "What do you want?"

He is surprisingly soft-spoken for one reputed to be rather shrill. Then again, she's mostly heard him on the battlefield. _What do I want? _Ornella repeats that question to herself. What she wants is to talk walk over to him, pick him up by the collar, and press her lips against his, but she doesn't do this. She does, however, approach him, careful not to get too close.

"I didn't mean to catch you like this." Ornella amazes herself with how well she can lie when she absolutely must. "I just wanted to look at the stars; it's a beautiful night."

Roget looks up at the sky right when the wind picks up yet again. "Yes, it is." He looks back at her, obviously not entirely convinced. "But, why did you come here?"

"Why did you? You're a mage, are you not? Mages should never be alone like this."

"Please." He brushes her statement away the same way the breeze brushes the tree branches. "I can take care of myself. Besides, we're not that far away from everyone else."

He is right. The various fires in the Caravan are not more than thirty paces away, but in Ornella's experience, such a distance can still be too far during the night. "Still, you are a mage and as such, are among the more vulnerable. You should be more careful."

"I told you, I can take care of myself," Roget snaps. He looks towards the camp full of people who do everything from sing to sleep. "I've never seen you spy on any of them, so why me? Is it because you don't trust me? I'm used to that."

"It's not about trust."

He lowers his head. "Then you must have come to gloat. I'm used to that too. Some of pirates would leer at me and I'd hear them talk about raping me."

"What?" Ornella is horrified yet not surprised. She knows about Roget leading the attack on Pirate's Den. By now, everyone at the camp does. She shakes her head. "They would never do that. I doubt any of them mean you any harm."

"You should hear them sometime. It's like a big joke to them." He folds his arms, moving the orb above his left shoulder. "I know they won't do anything, but I can't help but be a little upset."

"Is that why you're here?"

Roget shook his head. "No. I just think the stars look more clear when there's little light, that's all."

"I see." Ornella nods. "I'm here because of you, and no, I didn't come here to gloat."

"Hrm." He suddenly falls silent. He isn't even looking at the stars or even feeling the wind.

"You must carry a lot of guilt in you, Roget."

His eyes widen before quickly narrowing. The young wind mage has _how do you know that?_ written all over him, but by the time he regains his composure, it's too late and he knows it. He sighs. "Yes, I do, actually. I was told that those fish beasts came from the Rune cannons themselves, but that didn't make any sense. I always questioned Iskas, but I never got a straight answer. When I saw your older brother, I--" Roget presses his lips together.

"You realized how they're really made." Ornella finishes for him.

"Yes." Once again, the wind picks up everything it can. Roget doesn't close his eyes, but he does look up at the stars that sparkle like jewels. His arms fall to his sides and Ornella now wants nothing more than to give him a hug, which is not something she often considers doing. When she edges closer to him, he glares at her. "No. Just leave me alone."

She understands him completely. Still, she says, "I should have never said anything about guilt. You're friendlier than this." She barely smiles. "I've seen that too. I know what you're capable of." Ornella wishes that she is capable of courage beyond politics and the battlefield, but it clearly falters when Roget is around. If only she could just grab him, take him, and slip him inside of her as she showers him with kisses, but it's not going to happen. She notices the pang between her legs again, but she tries to ignore it for just a little while longer. "It's a shame that politics prevents us from getting along better."

Roget smiles bitterly. "I don't care much about politics anymore." He looks back up at the sky. "We should head back; it's getting late and the wind is dying down."

Ornella simply nods in agreement, honestly not too concerned about any breeze. She is more concerned about what will happen in the future. All she can do is make sure that it'll never be too late to tell Roget how she feels about him. Despite his claim of indifference, she thinks he cares a great deal about the welfare of Kooluk, whether he admits it or not. Either way, they're both on the same side now, and that's more than enough to keep Ornella hoping that she can do more than just dream of him.

_Fin._


End file.
